Yazoo River

The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 in reference to a Native American tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear.

The river is 188 miles long and is formed by the confluence of the Tallahatchie River and the Yalobusha River. Due to the geography of the terrain, the river parallels the Mississippi River for some distance before joining it north of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The river was of major importance during the American Civil War. The first electronically detonated underwater mine was used on the river in 1862 near Vicksburg to sink the Federal ironclad USS Cairo.